Recurring patterns in stationary intervals of abdominal uterine electromyograms during gestation

Abdominal uterine electromyograms (uEMG) studies have focused on uterine contractions to describe the evolution of uterine activity and preterm birth (PTB) prediction. Stationary, non-contracting uEMG has not been studied. The aim of the study was to investigate the recurring patterns in stationary uEMG, their relationship with gestation age and PTB, and PTB predictivity. A public database of 300 (38 PTB) three-channel (S1-S3) uEMG recordings of 30 min, collected between 22 and 35 weeks' gestation, was used. Motion and labour contraction-free intervals in uEMG were identified as 5-min weak-sense stationarity intervals in 268 (34 PTB) recordings. Sample entropy (SampEn), percentage recurrence (PR), percentage determinism (PD), entropy (ER), and maximum length (L MAX) of recurrence were calculated and analysed according to the time to delivery and PTB. Random time series were generated by random shuffle (RS) of actual data. Recurrence was present in actual data (p<0.001) but not RS. In S3, PR (p<0.005), PD (p<0.01), ER (p<0.005), and L MAX (p<0.05) were higher, and SampEn lower (p<0.005) in PTB. Recurrence indices increased (all p<0.001) and SampEn decreased (p<0.01) with decreasing time to delivery, suggesting increasingly regular and recurring patterns with gestation progression. All indices predicted PTB with AUC≥0.62 (p<0.05). Recurring patterns in stationary non-contracting uEMG were associated with time to delivery but were relatively poor predictors of PTB

Angler Harvest in the Summers of 1953 to 1956 at Clear Lake, Iowa

Clear Lake is a large ( 3 ,643 acres), shallow ( 20 feet, maximum depth) eutrophic lake located in north central Iowa. Most warm water game fishes common to the Midwest are found in this lake (Bailey and Harrison, 1945). The Iowa Cooperative Fisheries Research Unit initiated a creel census in 19 5 3 to determine the harvest of fish by anglers at Clear Lake. During the last four years several changes have been observed in the catch composition and fishing effort

The ATLAS Simulation: an LHC Challenge

The simulation program for the ATLAS experiment at CERN is currently in a full operational mode and integrated into the ATLAS common analysis framework, Athena. The OO approach, based on GEANT4, and in use during the DC2 data challenge has been interfaced within Athena and to GEANT4 using the LCG dictionaries and Python scripting. The robustness of the application was proved during the DC2 data challenge. The Python interface has added the flexibility, modularity and interactivity that the simulation tool requires in order to be able to provide a common implementation of different full ATLAS simulation setups, test beams and cosmic ray applications. Generation, simulation and digitization steps were exercised for performance and robustness tests. The comparison with real data has been possible in the context of the ATLAS Combined Test Beam (2004) and ongoing cosmic ray studies

The ATLAS Detector Digitization Project for 2009 data taking

The ATLAS digitization project is steered by a top-level PYTHON digitization package which ensures uniform and consistent configuration across the subdetectors. The properties of the digitization algorithms were tuned to reproduce the detector response seen in lab tests, test beam data and cosmic ray running. Dead channels and noise rates are read from database tables to reproduce conditions seen in a particular run. The digits are then persistified as Raw Data Objects (RDO) with or without intermediate bytestream simulation depending on the detector type. Emphasis is put on the description of the digitization project configuration, its flexibility in events handling for processing and in the global detector configuration, as well as its variety of options including detector noise simulation, random number service, metadata and details of pile-up background events to be overlaid. The LHC beam bunch spacing is also configurable, as well as the number of bunch crossings to overlay and the default detector conditions (including noisy channels, dead electronics associated with each detector layout). Cavern background calculation, beam halo and beam gas treatment, pile-up with real data is also part of this report

Frizzled-7 is required for Wnt signaling in gastric tumours with and without Apc mutations

A subset of patients with gastric cancer have mutations in genes that participate in or regulate Wnt signaling at the level of ligand (Wnt) receptor (Fzd) binding. Moreover, increased Fzd expression is associated with poor clinical outcome. Despite these findings, there are no in vivo studies investigating the potential of targeting Wnt receptors for treating gastric cancer, and the specific Wnt receptor transmitting oncogenic Wnt signaling in gastric cancer is unknown. Here, we use inhibitors of Wnt/Fzd (OMP-18R5/vantictumab) and conditional gene deletion to test the therapeutic potential of targeting Wnt signaling in preclinical models of intestinal-type gastric cancer and ex vivo organoid cultures. Pharmacologic targeting of Fzd inhibited the growth of gastric adenomas in vivo. We identified Fzd7 to be the predominant Wnt receptor responsible for transmitting Wnt signaling in human gastric cancer cells and mouse models of gastric cancer, whereby Fzd7-deficient cells were retained in gastric adenomas but were unable to respond to Wnt signals and consequently failed to proliferate. Genetic deletion of Fzd7 or treatment with vantictumab was sufficient to inhibit the growth of gastric adenomas with or without mutations to Apc. Vantictumab is currently in phase Ib clinical trials for advanced pancreatic, lung, and breast cancer. Our data extend the scope of patients that may benefit from this therapeutic approach as we demonstrate that this drug will be effective in treating patients with gastric cancer regardless of APC mutation status

A fuzzy feature fusion method for auto-segmentation of gliomas with multi-modality diffusion and perfusion magnetic resonance images in radiotherapy

The difusion and perfusion magnetic resonance (MR) images can provide functional information about tumour and enable more sensitive detection of the tumour extent. We aimed to develop a fuzzy feature fusion method for auto-segmentation of gliomas in radiotherapy planning using multi-parametric functional MR images including apparent difusion coefcient (ADC), fractional anisotropy (FA) and relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV). For each functional modality, one histogram-based fuzzy model was created to transform image volume into a fuzzy feature space. Based on the fuzzy fusion result of the three fuzzy feature spaces, regions with high possibility belonging to tumour were generated automatically. The auto-segmentations of tumour in structural MR images were added in fnal autosegmented gross tumour volume (GTV). For evaluation, one radiation oncologist delineated GTVs for nine patients with all modalities. Comparisons between manually delineated and auto-segmented GTVs showed that, the mean volume diference was 8.69% (±5.62%); the mean Dice’s similarity coefcient (DSC) was 0.88 (±0.02); the mean sensitivity and specifcity of auto-segmentation was 0.87 (±0.04) and 0.98 (±0.01) respectively. High accuracy and efciency can be achieved with the new method, which shows potential of utilizing functional multi-parametric MR images for target defnition in precision radiation treatment planning for patients with gliomas

Innovative multi-site photoplethysmography measurement and analysis demonstrating increased arterial stiffness in paediatric heart transplant recipients

Objective: It has been documented that heart transplantation in children is often complicated by arterial hypertension and increased arterial stiffness. We use innovative multi-site photoplethysmography (MPPG) pulse measurement and analysis technology to assess changes in arterial stiffness in paediatric heart transplant recipients (HTRs) in comparison with healthy control (HC) children. Approach: A group of 20 HTRs (median age 13.5 years, eight male) were compared to an overall age- and gender-matched group of 161 HCs (median age 11.6 years, 74 male). Peripheral pulse was recorded bilaterally using MPPG at the ear lobe, index finger and great toe sites, along with an electrocardiogram cardiac timing reference. Segmental pulse arrival times between peripheral sites (finger–ear, PATf–e; toe–finger, PATt–f; and toe–ear PATt–e) were calculated as arterial stiffness measures, and differences between subject groups were tested using multivariate analysis. Normalised ear, finger and toe pulse shapes were also studied and compared between groups. Main results: After correction for heart rate and diastolic and mean arterial blood pressures, the HTR group was found to have significantly lower segmental PATt–e and PATt–f measurements, with median values of 150 ms versus 172 ms in the HC group (p  =  0.02), and 104 ms versus 118 ms in the HC group (p  =  0.01), respectively, consistent with increased arterial stiffness in the patient group. The normalised ear, finger and toe sites showed only a mild elongation in each pulse rise time for the transplant group. Significance: This study shows that innovative and easy-to-do MPPG gives further evidence for increased arterial stiffness in children who have undergone successful cardiac transplantation

Prenatal muscle development in a mouse model for the secondary dystroglycanopathies

The defective glycosylation of α-dystroglycan is associated with a group of muscular dystrophies that are collectively referred to as the secondary dystroglycanopathies. Mutations in the gene encoding fukutin-related protein (FKRP) are one of the most common causes of secondary dystroglycanopathy in the UK and are associated with a wide spectrum of disease. Whilst central nervous system involvement has a prenatal onset, no studies have addressed prenatal muscle development in any of the mouse models for this group of diseases. In view of the pivotal role of α-dystroglycan in early basement membrane formation, we sought to determine if the muscle formation was altered in a mouse model of FKRP-related dystrophy

Expression, Purification and Characterization of Arginase from Helicobacter pylori in Its Apo Form

Arginase, a manganese-dependent enzyme that widely distributed in almost all creatures, is a urea cycle enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of L-arginine to generate L-ornithine and urea. Compared with the well-studied arginases from animals and yeast, only a few eubacterial arginases have been characterized, such as those from H. pylori and B. anthracis. However, these enzymes used for arginase activity assay were all expressed with LB medium, as low concentration of Mn2+ was detectable in the medium, protein obtained were partially Mn2+ bonded, which may affect the results of arginase activity assay. In the present study, H. pylori arginase (RocF) was expressed in a Mn2+ and Co2+ free minimal medium, the resulting protein was purified through affinity and gel filtration chromatography and the apo-form of RocF was confirmed by flame photometry analysis. Gel filtration indicates that the enzyme exists as monomer in solution, which was unique as compared with homologous enzymes. Arginase activity assay revealed that apo-RocF had an acidic pH optimum of 6.4 and exhibited metal preference of Co2+>Ni2+>Mn2+. We also confirmed that heat-activation and reducing regents have significant impact on arginase activity of RocF, and inhibits S-(2-boronoethyl)-L-Cysteine (BEC) and Nω-hydroxy-nor-Arginine (nor-NOHA) inhibit the activity of RocF in a dose-dependent manner

Lipoxin A4 and interleukin-8 levels in cystic fibrosis sputum after antibiotherapy

AbstractAntibiotics are largely prescribed for cystic fibrosis (CF) respiratory exacerbations. Effects of antibiotics on the inflammatory profile of the patients have been shown but remain controversial. Lipoxin A4 (LXA4) is a lipid mediator, reported to play a central role in resolving airway inflammation. The aim of the study was to investigate the consequences of antibiotherapy on LXA4 and IL-8 levels in CF patients' airways.MethodsEighteen CF patients (7 females, median age 20, range 8 to 47 years) consecutively admitted at the CF center of Montpellier for antibiotics during pulmonary exacerbation, were enrolled. Before and after antibiotics, all patients underwent spirometry (FEV1 and FVC), bacterial cultures and cell counts in sputa. IL-8 and LXA4 concentrations were determined in sputum samples by the median of immunometric assays.ResultsAs previously reported, after antibiotics therapy, FEV1 and FVC significantly improved. While neutrophil cell counts and IL-8 levels decreased, the LXA4 levels significantly increased after antibiotics therapy and were inversely correlated with IL-8 levels.In conclusion, we reported a correlation between antibiotics treatments and inflammatory markers in CF sputum. Our data provide evidences for a novel effect of antibiotics increasing the concentration of the anti-inflammatory lipid mediator LXA4